Broccoli Crunch Recipe

They say there are no original ideas and sometimes even when I think I've come up with something new, I find a quick search on the internet proves otherwise. While I try to invent my own creative combinations, sometimes I do find my inspiration online, in cookbooks or in restaurants. Recently I was in Las Vegas where I had a couple of very inspiring meals at  Carson Kitchen. The restaurant serves rich small plates including impossibly crunchy chicken skins and meatballs in a luscious creamy foie gras sherry sauce. One of the dishes I knew I would want to try and recreate at home was their “broccoli crunch.” It turns out there are lots of versions of this dish online, although their version was certainly unique. The menu description included sunflower and pumpkin seeds as well as green goddess dressing. The salad also has dried cranberries and a handful of halved grape tomatoes. I decided to substitute tangerines in place of the tomatoes, which aren’t really in season this time......

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Walnut Mushroom Casserole Recipe

When I was growing up, my parents took me and my sister to all kinds of restaurants but rarely ones with "kid's menus." We regularly came into San Francisco to eat Chinese food, tried sushi long before it became popular, and celebrated birthdays and school graduation at fancy French restaurants. Unlike many kids who probably longed for Taco Bell or McDonald’s, I enjoyed eating at    The Good Earth ,  a casual restaurant near my house .  The menu  had a mix of salads and sandwiches and some very unique entrees. It wouldn’t necessarily be considered “health food” by today’s standards but there were quite a number of vegetarian dishes.  At The Good Earth, pretty much anyone could find something they would like to eat, and that made it perfect for dining out with everyone from my teenage girlfriends, to my grandmother. The Good Earth was famous for it’s spicy cinnamon tea which you can buy to this day. Although the restaurant chain was sold and very few r......

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Marinated Mustard Vegetables Recipe

I don't think you can ever have enough vegetable recipes. Growing up I ate vegetables steamed and served plain. Frankly I found them pretty boring served that way and I still do. Vegetables should be savored. Of course drenching them in hollandaise sauce or butter makes them taste good, but that's not the only way to dress them up. I like sauteing vegetables with a little red chili, garlic, sprinkling them with fresh herbs, Indian spices, drizzling on any numbers of flavorings. So often the recipes I develop for clients are very meat-oriented. I like challenging myself to come up with interesting vegetable dishes when I can. This marinated vegetable salad was developed because I wanted to find something that would be good for a potluck, It uses a variety of vegetables and can be served cold or at room temperature, but won't wilt like a green salad. Unlike some dishes that I have to repeat several times to get right, this one was a surprise because it came out great the......

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Cream of Broccoli and Pesto Soup Recipe

I often skip online blogging events these days. But the idea of inviting bloggers to dinner is a very nice one indeed. Too bad my apartment is so small and my table virtually impossible to get more than three chairs around. Truth be told, other than house guests I haven't had people over in ages. So what would I serve? That is a tough question. Of course it would very much depend upon which blogging friends were to dine here. For vegetarian friends I would probably make my eggplant lasagna. For meat eating friends a roast chicken and crispy roast potatoes because, really, who doesn't like that? For seafood eating friends I would make a luscious oniony risotto with shrimp and peas or asparagus and a drizzle of lemon oil. For a starter, I would make a cream of broccoli soup with pesto. Why? Because I made it this weekend and it was a real hit. I'd be curious to see if they like it as much as I do! I would pair it with a nice Sauvignon Blanc from New Zealand. For dess......

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